Caitlin Clark Could Go Down as Greatest Basketball Player Ever, Purdue WCBB HC Says
Apr 5, 2023
Iowa's Caitlin Clark reacts after a three pointer during the second half of an NCAA Women's Final Four semifinals basketball game against South Carolina Friday, March 31, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Purdue women's basketball head coach Katie Gearlds said that Iowa superstar guard Caitlin Clark could go down as the greatest basketball player of all time.
"Twenty years from now, I wouldn't be surprised if we're talking about her as the greatest female basketball player," Gearlds said during an interview with Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star.
She then added: "Maybe not just female. Not just that. She's one of the best basketball players I've ever seen. She's it."
Clark has been a transcendent superstar during her three years at Iowa, averaging 27.2 points, 8.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game. She just led the Hawkeyes to their first-ever national championship appearance after they beat undefeated reigning national champion South Carolina in the Final Four.
Gearlds' remarks were in response to comments Doyel relayed about Clark being the GOAT 20 yeas from now.
"Someday you'll see, when Caitlin Clark joins the past – 20 years from now, after she's done at Iowa and in the Olympics and the WNBA – and it'll feel safer, less disrespectful to those who came before her, to acknowledge she's the greatest of all time," Doyel wrote.
Clark very well could be, but the women's game is loaded with star power everywhere. Doyel also spoke with Indiana head coach Teri Moren, who had this to say:
"She is by far a once-in-a-lifetime player, and is there a Caitlin Clark effect? Yeah. But I want to spread the love. I'm going to the Wooden Awards (Monday in Los Angeles), and Caitlin Clark will be there and she's probably going to win it, but Mackenzie Holmes of Indiana, Aliyah Boston of South Carolina, Cameron Brink of Stanford and Maddy Siegrist of Villanova will be there, and they're tremendous players."
That Wooden Award finalist list (Clark won the award on Monday) doesn't even include LSU forward Angel Reese, a double-double machine who just led the Lady Tigers to their first national championship. Nor does it include UConn's Paige Bueckers, a superstar in her own right who should be back next season after sitting out this year with a torn ACL.
Clark's recent dominance is one of the top storylines in American sports now, though, and her excellence has people wondering what could be next.
Caitlin Clark: I Want My Legacy to Be the Impact I Have on Kids, People in Iowa
Apr 3, 2023
Iowa's Caitlin Clark after making a three pointer during the second half of the NCAA Women's Final Four championship basketball game against LSU Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Iowa superstar guard Caitlin Clark told reporters what she wants her legacy to be when her career is over someday:
Clark is coming off an historic NCAA tournament where she led Iowa to a national championship appearance and dropped a record 191 points, the high-water mark in women's or men's Division I play.
It was a tremendous performance for Clark, who was born and raised in Iowa and went to high school at Dowling Catholic in Des Moines. She stayed in-state to move onto the Hawkeyes in 2020 and has been sensational ever since.
Clark has already made a great impact on the state outside of her remarkable on-court accomplishments, which include unanimous college player of the year honors this season and a pair of unanimous first-team All-American honors.
She's a frequent visitor of the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, and her impact there is so great that she even learned of being named AP Player of the Year during a visit:
Iowa star Caitlin Clark learned she was the AP Player of the Year during a recent visit to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.https://t.co/xuoHBaSEY9pic.twitter.com/MaCkYHMvBj
Clark also has a pro bono NIL deal with Coralville Community Food Pantry in Coralville, Iowa, as Grace Raynor of The Athletic noted in a recent feature and Daniel Wallach of The Athletic relayed. As Raynor noted, the pantry intended to pay Clark for fundraising and community outreach efforts, but she wanted to assist for free.
Caitlin Clark is only a junior and won't be WNBA eligible until the 2024 draft.
But she’ll likely make more money by staying in college through #NIL deals.
Caitlin Clark’s pro bono #NIL deal is with the Coralville Community Food Pantry. They are asking for a $22 donation to help local families who are facing food insecurity. Extending the the drive thru April 22. All gifts are eligible to win a signed jersey. https://t.co/0b6eZq4e00
Clark's postseason performance gives her the chance to make an even greater impact on the community given her superstar status, which was further cemented this past month and could offer her the chance for an even bigger platform to impact younger kids and Iowa residents.
As for the future, Clark can stay in school for one more year before moving on to the WNBA draft in 2024, when she is first eligible to enter her name. She'll be a focal point again during the 2023-24 collegiate season before potentially lighting up the pros in a year's time.
Caitlin Clark Breaks Glen Rice, Sheryl Swoopes' NCAA Tournament Scoring Records
Apr 2, 2023
Iowa's Caitlin Clark shoots past LSU's Last-Tear Poa during the first half of the NCAA Women's Final Four championship basketball game Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Iowa superstar guard Caitlin Clark broke the all-time scoring record in NCAA Division I women's or men's basketball tournament history after her 30-point performance against LSU in the national championship game on Sunday in Dallas.
Clark entered Sunday with 161 points in this tournament. That was 16 points short of Sheryl Swoopes' 30-year-old NCAA Division I women's tournament scoring record and 23 behind Glen Rice's 34-year-old men's tourney mark.
She scored 16 points at halftime to tie Swoopes before this three put her in the solo lead.
Caitlin Clark passed the legendary Sheryl Swoopes for most points scored in a single women's NCAA tournament🤩 pic.twitter.com/PplLHWUcJy
Clark, who dropped 41 points apiece in Iowa's Elite Eight and Final Four matchups, posted 31.8 PPG in her tournament matchups.
Swoopes scored 177 points over five tournament games (35.4 PPG) en route to leading the Texas Tech Lady Raiders to the 1993 championship. Her 47 points in an 84-82 win over Ohio State in the national championship remains a record for the most points scored in a Final Four matchup.
Rice, who starred for Michigan, dropped 184 points over six games (30.7 PPG) to lead the Wolverines to the 1989 national championship. Clark finished seven points clear of that former record to set the new benchmark at 191 points.
Clark's Hawkeyes fell just short in their quest for a national title, falling 102-85 to LSU. However, Iowa went on a tremendous March Madness run that included an upset win over undefeated South Carolina. What Clark and this team did won't be forgotten anytime soon.
Women's Tournament 2023: Championship Preview after Final Four Scores
Apr 1, 2023
DALLAS, TEXAS - MARCH 31: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts after a three point basket during the fourth quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at American Airlines Center on March 31, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
A phenomenal pair of Final Four matchups has resulted in LSU and Iowa earning berths to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament championship game on Sunday at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
LSU outscored Virginia Tech 29-13 in the fourth quarter to turn a 59-50 deficit into a 79-72 win behind 27 points from Alexis Morris and a 24-point, 12-rebound outing from Angel Reese.
Meanwhile, the Caitlin Clark Show has rolled on after the superstar guard posted 41 points, eight assists and six rebounds in Iowa's 77-73 upset win over reigning national champion and previously undefeated South Carolina.
Clark scored or assisted on every single point in the fourth quarter, and she is the first person to score 40 or more points in back-to-back games in the tournament. Her 41 points were the most in a national semifinal in men's or women's tourney history.
Now LSU and Iowa will square off in an intriguing matchup featuring the game's greatest player in Clark, a megastar in her own right in Reese and a host of other talented players who have shone in March.
The Lady Tigers are great on both ends. LSU is fourth in both offensive and defensive efficiency this season, per Sports Reference.
The Lady Tigers are led by Reese, a 6'3" forward who has posted 23.2 points and 15.7 rebounds per game, which ranks second in Division I.
She has been nothing short of dominant all season, and that continued Friday with a 24-point, 12-rebound, three-steal outing.
In theory, LSU's size and rebounding ability should cause problems for Iowa, even though the Hawkeyes were able to overcome that Friday (more on that in a second). LaDazhia Williams, a 6'4" forward, averages 6.0 boards per game and should present issues down low as well.
Scoring shouldn't be a problem if Morris, LSU's second-leading scorer, keeps it rolling.
The senior guard isn't leaving the floor these days either, sitting just one minute over the last four games. On Friday, Morris scored 10 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter.
Morris has been sensational in the last two games, posting 21 points and four steals in a 54-42 win over Miami in the Elite Eight.
The X-factor for LSU here is first-year guard Flau'jae Johnson.
This has been a tournament to forget for Johnson, who has shot just 9-of-39 from the field in five games.
However, Johnson entered Friday shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 33.7 from deep, and she's had some monster performances for LSU, including a 26-point game against Kentucky and a 27-point, 10-rebound, six-steal outing against Northwestern State in the regular season. If she gets going on Sunday, then LSU could win this running away.
On paper, LSU can crush Iowa on the boards and overpower the Hawkeyes.
Herein lies the problem: South Carolina out-rebounded Iowa 49-25. But it didn't matter because Clark was tremendous and the Iowa defense held USC to 39.0 percent shooting and 4-of-20 from three-point range.
Iowa's defense hasn't been good this year (207th in defensive rating, per Sports Reference), but it doesn't have to be great when the team sports the No. 2 offense. The offense has the potential to overpower any defensive or rebounding/size deficiencies it faces against other elite teams.
Clark has received most of the attention and rightfully so, but Iowa forward Monika Czinano has been amazing in her own right. Despite sitting some in the second half Friday with foul trouble, she finished with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting along with three steals. The Clark-Czinano connection is a serious problem for all teams.
The X-factors here are a trio of good three-point shooters who can get hot and change the game on a dime in McKenna Warnock, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall.
Iowa didn't need the three-ball to fall much Friday (7-of-23, with Clark going 5-of-17), but that's been a weapon for the Hawkeyes at multiple points in March.
Marshall had five of them in a gutty 74-66 win over Georgia in the second round. Marshall and Warnock each had three against Louisville in the 97-83 Elite Eight victory.
Overall, the LSU-Iowa matchup looks like it'll be a closely contested game. Perhaps Clark will put a bow on her historical run with a national title, or maybe the double-double machine in Reese will be too much for Iowa down low.
Ultimately, this has the potential to be an instant classic. The game will air on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. ABC will televise the final.
Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.
Iowa Basketball Recruit Ava Jones, Parents Hospitalized After Being Hit by Car
Jul 6, 2022
UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 31: The Iowa Hawkeyes logo on a pair of shorts during a college basketball game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Bryce Joyce Center on January 31, 2022 in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Iowa women's basketball commit Ava Jones and her parents were injured when they were hit by a car while walking in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday evening, according to Billy Kobin, Brooks Holton and Billy Watson of the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Louisville Metro Police said Jones, her parents Amy and Trey Jones and a child were hit by an impaired driver whose vehicle left the road in downtown Louisville and all were hospitalized.
Ava Jones was described to be in "serious but stable condition," while her parents, Amy and Trey Jones, were in critical condition Wednesday morning. A spokesperson said the child with them was treated for "minor injuries."
The driver, Michael Hurley, was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree assault along with driving under the influence.
Ava Jones stars for Nickerson High School and AAU team Wheat State Elite, both in Kansas. The 6'2" wing is rated a 4-star recruit and the No. 83 overall player in the 2023 class, according to ESPNW.
After initially committing to Arizona State, Jones reopened the recruiting process and announced her commitment to Iowa on Sunday.
"They've got a winning culture, they've got a big fan base, they've got Iowa City," Jones said of Iowa to Jeff Linder of The Gazette. "They've got everything."
The family was in Louisville for the Run 4 Roses Classic, an AAU girls basketball tournament.
